Monroe, Marla - Long, Lonely Nights [The Protectors 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)
Page 4
“No. What do you want, Christina?”
He remembered her name. It surprised her. She didn’t think he was listening.
She smiled, knowing it fell short of a real one. “I’m Tina. I live next door.”
He held out his hand to shake. She hesitated for just a second, then let him envelope her hand in his large one.
“Name is Riley. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tina,” he said with a wide smile.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
He held her hand a bit longer than was necessary, but let go when she tugged a little. Logan stepped closer to them.
“So, what do you want?” Logan asked again.
“Oh, I just came over to thank you for the flower you left.”
“I didn’t leave a flower for you. What are you talking about?”
“It came from your rose bush. It’s the same color. I thought maybe you left it on my door step.” Tina got worried. Who would have left it if he hadn’t?
“Must be some secret admirer. Tell him not to be such a cheapskate that he steals my roses,” Logan growled.
“Could just be some teenager prank,” Riley spoke up.
“Maybe so. I’m sorry I interrupted you,” Tina huffed, and turned to walk off.
“No problem. It was nice meeting you, Tina,” Riley said.
“Shut up,” Logan said.
Tina walked back over to her house a little pissed off at Logan. The man couldn’t be nice for anything. His friend was much more amicable. She wouldn’t bother him again. She wouldn’t even watch him anymore. He was such an asshole. It was early enough she decided to read before bed. She stripped off and showered before slipping into a gown. She felt like a gown tonight. It would be a nice night to sit outside. The rain from earlier had cooled things off some.
Tina picked up the novel she was reading and stepped outside the French doors. The cooler night air wrapped around her. She could actually breathe. She picked a chair and made herself comfortable. A few minutes later she heard the roar of a motorcycle and figured Logan’s friend was leaving. Too bad Logan wasn’t as friendly as Riley was. Oh well, she thought, forget him and relax.
* * * *
“Man, she’s one hot chick. Too bad she’s so classy,” Riley said.
“Forget her. She’s off limits,” Logan growled.
“Why are you so rude to her? It wouldn’t hurt you to be nice. She is your neighbor.”
“I don’t want her getting any ideas,” he returned.
“You definitely don’t have to worry about that.” Riley just shook his head.
Logan didn’t want his friend even thinking about, Tina. Why was that? He didn’t have any interest in her. Yeah, he liked that she watched him, and the scene the other night had been hot, but like he told Riley, she was off limits. That included him.
He turned the conversation to other things. After awhile, Riley left, promising to call again later the next week. Logan went inside and headed for a shower. The long drive there and back put a kink in his shoulders. The hot water would help loosen it up.
Tomorrow, he had some yard work to do. It reminded him of Morgan and his crack about yard work. He felt like his friend was on the way to recovery. He hoped Morgan would come visit when he got the urge to move on again.
After his shower, Logan stepped out on his patio and looked up. Yep, she was there on her balcony again. He smiled. She was reading, but it didn’t fool him. She was looking for him.
He wore only his boxers again. He couldn’t tell for sure but thought she had on a nightgown tonight. I wonder why the gown instead of the T-shirt. Is it for me? Maybe she’s thinking about me. Right, he thought. She’s reading. She probably won’t even know you’re down here. He could make a noise. Then again, why tempt fate. He needed to stop these nightly excursions outside in his shorts. He was asking for trouble.
Logan sat in a chair and propped his feet up. The chair made a noise, and he smirked. He hadn’t meant to do that. Really. Logan felt her eyes on him. He didn’t have to look up to know she would have put her book down and watched him. Why it turned him on so much for her to watch him, he didn’t know. Especially when nothing could come of their little game.
Logan rubbed his cock through his boxers. He pulled it out and massaged it until he had some pre-come. He spread it around the cap and then up and down the stalk. He leaned back and closed his eyes. His thoughts naturally turned to Tina and how he imagined she would look spread out on his bed. He would have her hands tied to the bedpost. She would be totally nude. His hand grasped his cock and squeezed. He ran his other hand down to his balls and rolled them.
Tina’s hair would be spread out on the bed around her. He would come over her and run her hair through his fingers. She’d whimper and try to rock her pelvis against him.
His hand pumped up and down his shaft.
The sight of her body waiting for him would make him harder than he’d ever been. He wanted inside her.
His hand moved faster. His balls contracted.
He would raise her legs over his arms and plunge inside her. She’d scream for him and buck beneath him. She’d beg him to hurry. She would plead with him to move faster—harder.
Logan’s balls burned. The burning move up his shaft. He was going to come.
He erupted inside of her in his mind as his cock sprayed come all over his hand. He worked at slowing his breathing and listened for her. He wasn’t disappointed.
A few seconds later she must have come. She let out a nearly imperceptible ah. He smiled and got up to go wash up. He knew he would sleep well that night.
* * * *
Tina rose the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day. She planned to work in the flowerbeds today. They needed weeding. After dressing, she made coffee and breakfast. The day would heat up fast, so she needed to get out there while it wasn’t so hot. She applied sunscreen and grabbed her gloves.
She spent an hour on each bed in the front yard then moved around to the side of the house. The first bed didn’t take very long, but she figured the area under her balcony would take longer.
She decided to take a break first. Lemonade sounded good. Looking at her watch she realized it was nearly noon. She would work awhile on the other bed and quit for lunch. She would save the rest of it until late in the afternoon when it wouldn’t be so hot.
Once she finished the lemonade, she returned to the bed under the balcony. She was just about to start when she realized the ground had been trampled. Someone had been standing under her balcony. It unnerved her. It looked like whoever it was had big feet by the size of the footprints. Her neighbor had big feet. It was probably him. What was he doing in her yard? It didn’t make sense.
Angry, she marched over to where she saw him cutting grass and waved her arms at him to get his attention. He looked annoyed at her, but turned off the lawnmower.
“Yeah, what do you want now?” he asked.
“Have you been in my yard?”
“No. Why would I be in your yard?”
“Someone has,” she said. “They have big feet, and you have big feet.”
“I haven’t been in your yard. Let’s go look at the footprints,” he growled.
He followed her around the fence over to where the balcony was. He knelt on the ground and studied the footprints. He ran his hands over the ground and then stood up.
“You got a ladder?” he asked.
“Yes. Why do you want to know?”
“Because someone used a ladder, I think, up against the house.”
“My God. Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“Nope. Where is the ladder?” he asked again.
“In the shed.” She led the way to the shed and opened the door for him.
He stepped inside, looked at the end of the ladder, and ran his hands over it. They came away with what looked like fresh dirt on them. He looked up at her.
“When is the last time you used this and where?”
“Not fo
r over a month. I used it on the carport to change the light bulb.”
The ladder was one of those multiple position ones. It would act as a tall stepladder, a small scaffold, or a regular tall ladder. Had someone used her own ladder to get up to her balcony?
“I’d say someone used your ladder. I don’t know if they were looking for a way in or if they were watching you some night. I haven’t seen anyone around your house while I’m home. I was gone most of yesterday, though. You were at work, so they might have been here yesterday afternoon.” Logan shut the door to the shed and led her back around to her carport.
“I’m surprised someone didn’t see him. We have a good neighborhood watch here,” Tina said.
“Then it must have been last night.”
“What do I do? I have an alarm system. Surly I don’t have anything to worry about.”
“I’ll look at your locks on your doors,” he said.
Tina didn’t even think twice and led him inside. She had to unlock the doors, and he nodded at her. He looked over the locks and the door facing, she guessed to see if there was any sign someone had tried to get inside. Next, he checked out her front door. He checked each window and didn’t seem to find anything.
“I want to look at your balcony doors,” he said.
Tina led the way upstairs. She walked into her bedroom and was glad she had made the bed before she went downstairs for breakfast. She didn’t normally make it on Saturdays since she changed the sheets.
He studied the French doors then looked out on the balcony. “Here is where the ladder rubbed the wood. He’s been on your balcony, but I don’t see where he tried to get inside. He was probably watching you through the sheers.”
“Oh my God. What do I do?”
“Well, you need to call the police and file a report. Let them come out and see the area. The other thing you can do is stop sitting out on your balcony in your nightgown. He’s probably been watching you.”
Tina’s mouth flew open. He knew she had been out there. That meant he knew she watched him. She was mortified. She lashed out at him.
“You’ve been watching me!”
“You’ve been watching me. I don’t think you can talk.”
She acted without thinking and reached out to slap him. He grabbed her hands and pulled her into him. Her hands ended up on his chest. His muscles flexed, and suddenly he turned her around, shoving her against the wall.
He raised her hands above her head and covered her mouth with his. The kiss was demanding. He licked her lips then nipped them until she opened her mouth to his. He pressed his body against hers. She felt his cock, hard and long against her abdomen.
She whimpered and returned his kiss for about thirty seconds. Then she came to her senses and struggled. He immediately let her go. Her hand went to her lips. They felt swollen from the assault.
“You can’t expect me to not be attracted to you when you get off watching me,” he said. “Call the police and file that report.”
He turned on his heel and left her still touching her lips with her fingers. She came to her senses and picked up the phone to call the police. She would have to think about the kiss later, when she could think about it in private.
The police took a good twenty minutes to arrive, but she told the dispatcher it wasn’t an emergency, so she couldn’t say anything. She told them about the footprints and the ladder. They looked at both and took notes. They told her to keep her doors locked and to call if she needed them. Again, they suggested a roommate. She didn’t want a roommate. She wanted them to catch whoever was trying to scare her.
Tina double checked all her locks on the doors and set the alarm as soon as the police left. She didn’t want to spend all her time locked inside her house. She wanted to be able to come and go and work outside without worry someone was watching her, waiting for an opportunity to break in and attack her.
What if it was the man who had assaulted her last year? The thought chilled her. He’d said she was his. Would he come back for her?
* * * *
Logan cursed, calling himself all kinds of a bastard for what he had done—kissing her for God’s sake. That had been the stupidest thing he’d ever done. He had done a lot of dumb things as a teenager. This was by far the worst. She had been startled at first, then responsive as hell. When she’d struggled, he knew she was upset, probably more at herself than at him.
What had gotten into him? She’d launched herself at him, ready to attack. He didn’t think. He reacted. Logan had wanted her for a long time now. Kissing her would only make it worse. He’d never be able to get her out of his system now that he had tasted her sweet lips. The fact that she had responded sealed his fate.
She’s was off limits, he reminded himself.
Remembering how her body felt pressed against his had his cock growing hard all over again. She’d pressed back against him before she’d come to her senses. Logan needed something to take his mind off her. Finishing mowing the grass then maybe a cold shower and a colder beer would be good starts. He walked outside and heard the police talking with Tina. Without looking that way, Logan started his lawnmower and went about cutting the grass. But his mind drifted.
Why would someone watch her? There were only two reasons, and neither one of them set well with him. The first reason was that they planned to attack her and rape her. The second was a secret admirer who was fixated on her. That would go with the flower on her doorstep.
Logan didn’t like either possibility. He would have to keep a watch on her. He took that cold shower he needed, and settled down to drink another beer. Maybe he would grill out tomorrow and invite Riley over. That should keep his mind off of her and his body out of the back yard in his boxers. Not that he expected her to sit on her balcony at night anymore. He would mourn that. He had enjoyed it. What’s more, she had enjoyed it.
Then there was the problem of an intruder at her place. It worried him. She had the best security she could get, but that might not be enough.
He decided to give her his phone numbers. She could call him if she heard anything instead of the police. They would get tired of her calling for every little noise and then not take her seriously when someone did break in, because the police would. He was certain of that.
No one would go to as much trouble as this guy did without plans. Logan would interrupt those though.
He didn’t even think twice. Once the police were gone, he walked back over to her house and knocked on her door. She didn’t answer at first. After the third time, she came to the door and called out.
“Who is it?”
“Logan. Let me in for a second.”
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Just let me the hell in. I’m not going to touch you.”
He huffed out a breath in exasperation. You’d think he had done more than kissed her. He sure as hell wanted to.
He heard the locks click, and then the door opened. She glared at him from behind the door.
“Give me your cell phone,” he grumbled.
“Why?”
“I’m going to program my numbers in it so you can call me if you hear anything. I can get over here faster than the police.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” She started to close the door again.
Logan put his foot in the door to prevent it.
“Just give me the damn cell phone. There’s no need for you to sit over here scared to death when I can check it out faster than the police will.”
She stared at him for a few seconds then nodded and opened the door wider to let him in. She walked over to the kitchen counter, fiddled in her purse, then handed him her phone. Logan quickly programmed both his house phone and cell phone into hers. He handed it back.
“Keep that by your bed at night. If you can, memorize my numbers so you can call me when you aren’t near your cell.”
“Why are you doing this? Why should you care if I’m scared or not? You obviously don’t like me very much.”
“I care, and I like you fine. I should think that was obvious earlier.”
“Lusting after someone isn’t the same as liking them.” She crossed her arms over her chest. It only raised her breasts higher.
He had to jerk his eyes away before she noticed. However, it must not have been quick enough because she dropped her hands down to her sides and glared at him. He shrugged.
“Look, I’m home most all the time. Call me if something worries you. I’ll come and check it out.” Logan turned on his heels and walked out the door before he did something stupid, like kiss her again.
Chapter Four
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay with me for a few days?” Jenna stood in Tina’s kitchen leaning against the counter.
“Yes, I’m sure. Thanks, but I still have to come back sometime. It won’t make a difference one way or another.” She continued cutting up potatoes for potato salad.
They were going to have a late lunch and cook BBQ chicken with potato salad and baked beans
“Honey, you’ve already been through a rough time. You don’t need to worry about this. It will bring back the nightmares.” She sighed and shook her head. “You’re still having them anyway, aren’t you?”
“Sometimes. Not often though.” She squirmed under Jenna’s searching eyes.
“Maybe you should go back to your counselor until this is all over,” Jenna said
After her near rape, she went to a counselor for several months to work out the fear and anger. She had nightmares every night and couldn’t sleep half the time. She was afraid to go to sleep.
Since they hadn’t caught the guy, she was afraid he would come back to finish what he had started. Despite the added locks and home security system, it took months for her to rest easy again. The more time that went by, the safer she felt. Surly he wouldn’t come back after all this time.
She could remember every detail as if it were yesterday. It had been a Saturday night. She and Jenna had gone out to dinner, then on to a club to dance. They’d had a great time. She had dropped Jenna off afterwards since they had gone in her car.